Page 65 of Altered

As the day passed by in a horrible, hurt-filled blur, I tried to heal the pain inside of me with music, food and writing.

But every song I listened to made me feel too much. And food?

I couldn’t taste it anymore.

Every time I sat down to write, I was bombarded with flashbacks of the two most traumatic nights of my life, which just so happened to be within a forty-eight-hour period.

The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t feel right anymore.

I wasbroken.

Nothing worked.

I couldn’t fill the gaping hole in my heart.

That piece I had left in Hunter's apartment that night.

I was in pain. I was burning up. The hurt and the anger, crushing my windpipe, making it hard for me to breathe, making it hard for me to get through each day.

Knowing I deserved the pain I was in made it so much worse, as I continued to hide from the world, covering his secrets, and burying my pain.

Hunter's phone was still off because of me, because he thought I might call.

I would.

I had.

And loving Hunter was what kept me in this house.

Curled up on the couch in Jordan's house, I forced myself to think long and hard about what I had done.

I had tried to love him. I had. For years, I had forced myself into believing that this was healthy and good and what was right for me.

I was seeing clearly now.

And nothing could be further from the truth.

As for secrets?

I carried them like most women carried a purse.

I wanted to fall on my hands and knees and screamsave meto anyone who would listen.

No one would, of course.

That was the price a woman paid for committing adultery.

I'd had an affair and lost myself in the process.

A knock sounded on the front door, stirring me from my reverie. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I got up from the couch and made my way towards the front of the house.

When I reached the hallway, Jordan was there, standing with his back to the door, and a frenzied look in his eyes.

I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he was doing, when he pressed his index finger to his lips.

Fear spiraled inside me.

Who was there?

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